


Back to the Start

by snarkymuch



Series: Animal Guides and Soulmates [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But pretty compliant for something I wrote, Light Angst, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Time Travel, animal guides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22579666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkymuch/pseuds/snarkymuch
Summary: *This will not make much sense without the reading the first one*When Tony meets his father while collecting the Tesseract in 1970, his panther is there by his side. Later, when that timeline's Tony is born, Howard is startled to see the same panther looking back at him again.
Relationships: Howard Stark & Tony Stark, Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Animal Guides and Soulmates [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624768
Comments: 26
Kudos: 316





	Back to the Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nooodlen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nooodlen/gifts).



> This is just a little outtake that I was inspired by an amazing comment to write. I would have never thought of this on my own. Credit for this idea goes to Nooodlen.

“Love, I feel as though it needs to be said again. I do not like this plan. If anyone should go, it should be me. No offense, darling, but I am a skilled warrior and mage.”

Tony smirked, shaking his head as he dropped onto the couch, crossing his legs. “No can do, princess. It’s gotta be me. I know this technology inside and out. As I should,” he said, “since I invented it.”

Vidar jumped onto the cushion beside him, resting its head on his thigh. Tony rubbed the spot behind its ear that he knew the wolf liked.

Loki gracefully sat on the other side of the couch. “Call me selfish, but I think you should just forget this plan. Put it in a box at the bottom of the lake and move on. You don’t owe the world a thing.”

Tony’s mouth twitched into a frown. His gaze flicked to Prince, who was pacing the floor by the mantel. He thought of Peter and all those others that had been lost. It was only by chance that Loki had survived, but even he had lost people. The survivors from Asgard had suffered from Thanos’ snap just the same. It was a pain felt around the world, around the universe.

He thought of the child he and Loki had adopted by chance. Her name was Morgan—orphaned in the snap as a baby. She meant the world to them. He didn’t want to put her at risk. Time travel was untested. What if they made a mistake?

His fingers twisted in Vidar’s fur, and the wolf lifted its eyes to Tony. He knew what had to be done.

“Someone once taught me that when you can do something good and don’t, and then when the bad things happen, they happen because of you—or something like that.” Tony sighed, looking at Loki, whose face was tight with emotion. Tony knew it wasn’t easy for him to accept. “I have to do this, Lokes. Someone needs to do the right thing.”

Loki pressed his lips together and then looked away, his brow furrowing. “Make sure to keep Prince close. I’d send you with Vidar if I could.” His gaze found Tony again. “Promise me you’ll return. I can’t—I cannot face this life without you and that infernal wolf at my side.”

A soft smile touched Tony's lips. “I’ll do my best.”

* * *

"Arnim, you in there?" A voice called into the lab, making Tony tense. He knew that voice, though this version sounded younger, lighter than the one he'd grown up cringing away from. "Arnim? Hey! Door's this way, pal."

A low growl rumbled from Prince, and Tony swatted at him to calm down.

"Oh, yeah," Tony said, fumbling with the case. 

His father stood in front of him, taking a step back when he saw Prince watching, ears flat against its head. 

"I'm looking for Dr. Zola. Have you seen him?" Howard's eyes didn't leave Prince, and Tony saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed nervously. 

"Yeah, no, Dr. Zol—no, I haven't seen a soul."

Prince took a step forward, a constant growl filling the air. Howard's Seal Point Himalayan cat hissing at Prince. 

Tony tried to nudge the panther behind him, but it only made Prince shake his head and push past him. 

"Sorry, he's not usually like this."

Howard picked up his guide, rubbing at its head. "With a guide like that, you should be more careful."

"Depends on the person. He's a pretty good judge of character."

Howard nodded, eyes narrowing. "Do I know you?"

"No, sir. I'm a–a visitor from MIT."

Prince continued to work between them, keeping Tony behind him. 

"Huh. MIT. Got a name?"

His mind went blank, and he blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Uh–Howard, Howard Potts, and my guide's name is Prince."

"Well, that'll be easy to remember," his father said. "I'm Howard Stark.”

Howard shifted the cat in his hands, so he could offer his right to shake. 

Prince nearly tripped Tony as he tried to reach for his hand. The panther wanted Tony as far from his father as possible. 

* * *

Later, when Tony said his goodbye to Howard, Prince stayed close. Tony twined his fingers in the great cat's fur to reassure it—or maybe to reassure himself. The memories of his father's once harsh words were crisp in his mind. 

"Let me ask you a question," Howard said, looking thoughtful. "When you adopted your kid–were you nervous?"

Prince paced and Steve's Eastern Imperial eagle cried out, drawing attention. Tony looked over his shoulder to see the Captain trying to hide the bird from sight. Between his clean-shaven face, distinctive jawline, and elegant guide, it was becoming hard to hide who he really was. Tony looked back at Howard, trying to distract him from the flapping eagle. 

"Wildly. Yeah," Tony said. 

Howard brought his attention back to Tony. "Did you feel qualified? Like you had any idea how to successfully operate that thing?"

Tony licked his lips, and Prince sat on his feet, leaning its weight against Tony's legs. "I literally pieced it together as I went along, I thought about what my Dad did, and—" He shook his head at the memories of his time with Howard.

His father looked down at Prince. "It must have been nice to have a guide like that watching over you while growing up. I didn't—my old man, he never met a problem he couldn't solve with a belt. I love my guide, but she could never do much to stop him."

Tony thought of Yinsen and the mouse that couldn't do anything to save him. He thought of his mother and the badger that watched over her but did nothing to keep her safe in the end. Tony knew his guide was unique in its strength and ability to protect. 

"I thought my dad was tough on me," Tony started, "and now, looking back, I just remember the good stuff, you know. He did drop the odd pearl."

Howard looked hopeful. "Yeah? Like what?"

"No amount of money ever bought a second of time."

Howard smiled. "Smart guy."

"He did his best. That's all we can do, though sometimes his anger got the best of him."

Howard was silent for a moment, holding his guide. Tony could see Jarvis standing at the car behind him. His raven perched on his shoulder. He missed the days he'd spend watching Prince playfully pouncing at the bird. The two of them were the best of friends, and Jarvis filled the role of father that his own never did. 

"Let me tell you," Howard said. "That kid's not even here yet, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. Good to meet you, Potts."

Howard moved to shake his hand, but Tony stepped around Prince and pulled him into a hug. 

"Yeah, Howard–everything's gonna be alright. Thank you–for everything." He faltered, trying to cover his near slip. "Everything that you've done for this country."

As Tony turned to walk away, Prince paused to meet Howard's eye, making him hesitate. The panther held his gaze for a moment before Tony called after it.

"Jarvis, have we ever met that guy?" Tony heard Howard ask.

Jarvis' raven cawed. "You meet a lot of people, sir."

* * *

It was a Friday night when his son was born. Anthony Edward Stark, they'd decided it would be for a boy. 

He was perfect in every way, and when the nurse passed him the swaddled baby, something brushed his leg. 

He lowered his gaze to meet a pair of familiar eyes. A panther, sleek and black, stood watching him with a distrustful glare. Howard held his boy a little tighter.

Howard cleared his throat. "It'll be okay, Prince. I'm going to take better care of him this time."

* * *

“You never did tell me what you and your father spoke about when you went to retrieve the stone,” Loki said, sitting on the same couch that their first conversation about time travel began. “Did you find any peace?”

A sad smile twisted Tony’s lips as he thought of his journey. He thought of Morgan and of Peter. He looked at Vidar and Prince. Finally, he lifted his eyes to the photo of his father on the shelf, noticing for the first time that some of the bitterness he’d held had faded.

He let out a heavy breath. “You know, I think I did.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked this. It was a fun thing I just needed to write. Hit me up on [tumblr](https://snarky-drabbles.tumblr.com/)


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